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Afro-Latinx Book Suggestions Try one of these books by an Afro-Latinx author or featuring an Afro-Latinx main character Winter Reading Challenge 2026 |
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Who Was Celia Cruz?: A Who Was? Board Book
by Lisbeth Kaiser
The latest addition to the Who HQ board book series: a biography of Celia Cruz, created specifically for the preschool audience! The #1 New York Times Bestselling Who Was? series expands into the board book space, bringing age-appropriate biographies of influential figures to readers ages 2-4. The chronology and themes of Celia Cruz's meaningful life are presented in a masterfully succinct text, with just a few sentences per page. The fresh, stylized illustrations are sure to captivate young readers and adults alike. With a read-aloud biographical summary in the back, this age-appropriate introduction honors and shares the life and songs of one of the most influential performers of our time. WHO WAS? BOARD BOOKS bring inspiring biographies to the youngest readers in an accessible and memorable way.
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The Cot in the Living Room
by Hilda Eunice Burgos
A young Dominican American girl in New York City moves from jealousy to empathy as her parents babysit children whose families work the overnight shift in this picture book debut. Night after night, a young girl watches her mami set up a cot in the living room for guests in their Washington Heights apartment, like Raquel (who's boring) and Edgardo (who gets crumbs everywhere). She resents that they get the entire living room with a view of the George Washington Bridge, while all she gets is a tiny bedroom with a view of her sister (who snores). Until one night, no one comes, and it's finally her chance! But as it turns out, sleeping in the cot in the living room isn't all she thought it would be. A celebration of the ways a Dominican American community takes care of one another while showing young readers that sometimes the best way to be a better neighbor is by imagining how it feels to spend a night sleeping on someone else's pillow.
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Anita and the Dragons
by Hannah Carmona
Anita used to watch the dragons from high above in her village, but now she must enter the belly of the beast. Will Anita be brave enough to take flight to new adventures?
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The River Is My Ocean
by Rio Cortez
Illustrations and text depict a child's Saturday walk with their abuela and the love they share for the Hudson River and Yemaya, the goddess of the sea.
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Islandborn
by Junot Díaz
Every kid in Lola's school was from somewhere else. Hers was a school of faraway places. When Lola's teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, all the kids are excited. Except Lola. She can't remember The Island--she left when she was just a baby. But with the help of her family and friends, and their memories--joyous, fantastical, heartbreaking, and frightening--Lola's imagination takes her on an extraordinary journey back to The Island. As she draws closer to the heart of her family's story, Lola comes to understand the truth of her abuela's words: Just because you don't remember a place doesn't mean it's not in you. Gloriously illustrated and lyrically written, Islandborn is a celebration of creativity, diversity, and our imagination's boundless ability to connect us--to our families, to our past, and to ourselves.
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Brown Girl, Brown Girl
by Leslé Honoré
Illustrations and rhyming text encourage brown girls to take courage from their predecessors and follow their dreams.
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If Dominican Were a Color
by Sili Recio
Illustrations and easy-to-read text portray the Dominican Republic in all of its hues, from the cinnamon in cocoa to the blue black seen only in dreams.
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The Polar Bear and the Ballerina
by Eric Velasquez
When dancers have a photoshoot at the Central Park Zoo, a young, African American ballerina and a polar bear form a special friendship. When his new friend leaves her scarf behind, the polar bear must venture through Central Park and out into Manhattan to return it before her performance at the Lincoln Center. However, the theater goers eye the strange bear with suspicion. When the ushers won't let him inside, the ballerina comes to his rescue and welcomes him in. The polar bear has dreamed of seeing the ballet, and now he gets to be a part of it in the most surprising way.
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Nonfiction in Spanish and English
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Juego de Libertad: Mestre Bimba Y El Arte de la Capoeira (Game of Freedom Spanish Edition)
by Duncan Tonatiuh
En esta biografía impactante y vibrante, el galardonado creador Duncan Tonatiuh echa luz sobre el legado de un legendario capoeirista, Mestre Bimba, quien se resistió a la opresión racial a través del arte y convirtió una práctica marginada en un fenómeno global. A powerful biography that sheds light on the legacy of a legendary capoeira player, Mestre Bimba, who resisted racial oppression through art and turned a marginalized practice into a global phenomenon. Una meia lua silbó a través del aire. El golpe fue evadido y le siguió un aú. Dos jóvenes estaban jugando a la capoeira en medio de la roda. Bimba también quería jugar. Aunque se debate cuándo y dónde se originó exactamente la capoeira, una forma de arte que combina las artes marciales, la danza, las acrobacias, la música y la espiritualidad, una cosa es segura: a principios del siglo XX Brasil era el único país en el mundo en el que se jugaba a la capoeira, y era practicada principalmente por personas de ascendencia africana. En 1890, dos años después de que Brasil aboliera oficialmente la esclavitud, el juego fue prohibido. La sociedad rica y de piel más clara temía y menospreciaba la capoeira, viéndola como un juego de malandros, como llamaban las personas en el poder a las comunidades negras y pobres a las que despreciaban. Pero, a principios de la década de 1920 en la ciudad de Salvador, un hombre llamado Bimba abogaría por que la capoeira, y quienes la practicaban, fueran tratados con la dignidad y el respeto que se merecían. La prosa lírica y el adorado estilo de ilustración de Duncan Tonatiuh, inspirado en los códices precolombinos, cuentan la historia de quien se podría decir fue el mejor capoeirista de todos los tiempos, quien luchó para convertir una actividad afrobrasileña perseguida e incomprendida en un arte célebre y practicado por millones de personas en todo el mundo. En 2014, la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO) designó a la capoeira como un Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de la Humanidad, una distinción otorgada por su promoción de la integración social y la memoria que guarda de la lucha contra la opresión histórica. En Juego de libertad, el galardonado Tonatiuh nos brinda una conmovedora celebración de la solidaridad y la resistencia a través del arte.
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Game of Freedom: Mestre Bimba and the Art of Capoeira
by Duncan Tonatiuh
In the powerful, vibrant biography Game of Freedom, award-winning creator Duncan Tonatiuh sheds light on the legacy of a legendary capoeira player, Mestre Bimba, who resisted racial oppression through art and turned a marginalized practice into a global phenomenon. A meia lua whooshed in the air. The strike was evaded and followed with an aú. Two young men were playing capoeira in the middle of the roda. Bimba wanted to play too. Although it is debated when and where capoeira--an art form that blends martial arts, dance, acrobatics, music, and spirituality--originated exactly, one thing is certain: in the early 20th century, Brazil was the only country in the world where capoeira was played, and it was mainly practiced by people of African descent. In 1890, two years after Brazil officially abolished slavery, the game was outlawed. Wealthy, lighter-skinned society feared and looked down on capoeira, seeing it as a game for malandros--what people in power called the poor Black communities they disdained. But in the early 1920s in the city of Salvador, a man called Bimba advocated for capoeira, and those who practiced it, demanding they be treated with dignity and respect. Duncan Tonatiuh's lyrical prose and beloved full-color illustrations, inspired by pre-Columbian codices, tell the story of arguably the greatest capoeirista of all time, who fought to turn a misunderstood, persecuted Afro-Brazilian activity into a celebrated art practiced by millions around the world. In 2014, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named capoeira an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a distinction awarded because of the game's promotion of social integration and the memory it holds of the struggle against historical oppression. From an award-winning author-illustrator, Game of Freedom is a stirring celebration of solidarity and resistance through art.
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¡Mambo Mucho Mambo! the Dance That Crossed Color Lines
by Dean Robbins
Millie danced to jazz in her Italian neighborhood. Pedro danced to Latin songs in his Puerto Rican neighborhood. It was the 1940s in New York City, and they were forbidden to dance together--until first a band and then a ballroom broke the rules. Machito and His Afro-Cubans hit the scene with a brand new sound, blending jazz trumpets and saxophones with Latin maracas and congas creating Latin jazz--music for the head, the heart, and the hips. Then the Palladium Ballroom issued a bold challenge to segregation and threw open its doors to all.
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For the Love of Soccer!
by Pelé
What does the world's greatest soccer player love about the game? The same things that you and I do! Speed, teamwork, dribbling, passing, taking your best shot--and making a G-O-O-A-A-A-L!Join Pelé, world champion soccer star, as he celebrates the kick and thrill of his favorite sport. Artist Frank Morrison sets up the play with two dynamic visual stories: Pelé's inspiring rise to fame, and a young fan's efforts to follow in his hero's speedy footsteps. Together, words and pictures deliver all the fun and excitement of a closely matched game.
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Who Is Pelé?
by James Buckley
His parents may have named him Edson Arantes do Nascimento, but to the rest of the world, he is known as Pelé. The now-retired professional soccer forward stunned Brazil when he began playing for the Santos soccer club at age fifteen. He then went on to captivate the world when he joined his country's national soccer team and helped them win three World Cup championships. Although he's hailed as a national hero for his accomplishments in soccer, Pelé has been an influential person both on and off the pitch.
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Who Was Celia Cruz?
by Pam Pollack
Although her family and friends know her as Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso, the world refers to her simply as Celia Cruz. Starting her career in 1950, Celia grew increasingly popular as the new lead singer of the Cuban band Sonora Matancera. Her exceptional vocal range and flashy costumes made fans fall in love with her. Celia's talent took her all around the world, including the United States. After Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba, she wasn't allowed to return to her native country. She and other Cubans who were exiled used their music to express their love for their homeland. Celia rose to the top of the charts in a genre that was dominated by men. She become an award-winning singer and the most popular Latin artist of the twentieth century.
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Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
by Javaka Steptoe
Jean-Michel Basquiat and his unique, collage-style paintings rocketed to fame in the 1980s as a cultural phenomenon unlike anything the art world had ever seen. But before that, he was a little boy who saw art everywhere: in poetry books and museums, in games and in the words that we speak, and in the pulsing energy of New York City.
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Ochún Y Yo: Una Historia de Amor Y Trenzas (Spanish Language Edition): Oshún and Me: A Story of Love and Braids
by Adiba Nelson
Tiernamente ilustrado por Alleanna Harris, el primer libro ilustrado de Adiba Nelson, Ochún y Yo, es una conmovedora oda a la familia, la identidad y la belleza de las trenzas. ¡También disponible en inglés! ¡Es domingo y eso significa que es el día de hacerte el pelo! Mientras Mami teje oro y conchas de cauri en el cabello de Yadira, le cuenta la historia de la diosa Ochún, mostrándole a Yadi cómo su herencia afro latina está amorosamente tejida en cada trenza y concha. Al día siguiente, Yadi llega a su primer día en una nueva escuela. Está nerviosa por hacer amigos, pero con sus hermosas trenzas, el clic-clac de las conchas de cauri y un poco de guía de Ochún, ella descubre que tiene todo lo que necesita para ser su mejor y más auténtica versión de sí misma. Al final del libro se incluye una carta del autor e información sobre diferentes tipos de peinados trenzados.
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Buscando a Bongo
by Eric Velasquez
Cuando la abuela de un niño lo acusa de ser descuidado con su querido Bongo, él inventa una trampa y atrapa al ladrón de juguetes con las manos en la masa.
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Juvenile Fiction & JGRAPHIC in English
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The Girl and the Robot
by Oz Rodriguez
Join a girl and a robot on their life-changing sci-fi adventure in this coming-of-age story that celebrates kids in STEM, first-gen communities, and the power of friendship.
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Miles Morales Untangles a Web
by Terrance Crawford
Miles Morales loves spending time at the new center that Tony Stark has just opened. There, he and other kids can take classes, play sports, and even work on art projects. Which is exactly what Miles is doing when he discovers that someone is trying to steal top-secret files from the Stark Center. Luckily, King T'Challa and his sister Shuri are in New York, and Shuri is just the tech genius who can help Miles save the day. Can this team identify and capture the villain before the Stark Center is completely destroyed? Miles is determined to untangle this web in this chapter book that's perfect for Marvel fans beginning to read on their own or for reading aloud!
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Marvel-Verse: Miles Morales: Spider-Man
by Brian Michael Bendis
The Marvel-Verse is full of possibilities for Miles Morales! Get to know Miles - the Spider-Man of two worlds - with these ultimately marvelous adventures! In the wake of Peter Parker's death in the Ultimate Universe, brave, young Miles steps forward with his own incredible, arachnid-like abilities to live up to the Spider-Man legacy! But how exactly does he get his ultra-cool costume? Then Miles' life is turned upside down when reality is rewritten, and he and his loved ones are transplanted to the Marvel Universe! But when the Avengers fall, can one teen hero stand in the way of the demonic Blackheart?
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Juvenile Fiction and JGRAPHIC in Spanish
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La vida de Celi Rivera es un torbellino de preguntas... por los cambios en su cuerpo, por sentirse atraída por un chico por primera vez y por la exploración que hace su mejor amiga de lo que significa ser género fluido.Pero, sobre todo, por la insistencia de su madre en hacerle una ceremonia lunar cuando le llegue su primer periodo. Se trata de un ancestral ritual mexica que Mima y su comunidad han rescatado, pero Celi se promete a sí misma que NO participará en él. Encontrará dentro de sí la fortaleza necesaria para defender quién quiere ser? |
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Miles Morales: Corrientes Extrañas (Miles Morales: Stranger Tides)
by Justin A. Reynolds
Miles Morales has just about gotten used to this being Spider-Man thing. Keeping Brooklyn safe, taking down bad guys, and finishing his homework--he's got this! But when Spider-Man is invited to a launch for a brand-new video game, things go sideways fast. Anyone who plays the game is frozen, and it's all because of a villain named the Stranger. He's judged humanity and found it lacking, and his idea of justice is extreme. Left with the fate of the world in his hands, and the clock is ticking on Miles.
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